


America's Next Top Explorers

by JayTDawgzone9999



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baking, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Cicadas, Crossdressing, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, During Canon, Each chapter varies in how serious (or not serious) it is, F/M, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Friendship, Hot Tub, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Missing Scene, Missing Scenes, One Shot Collection, Other, Scenarios, Snark, Stand Alone Chapters, Stargazing, Stress Baking, Travel, Traveling, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wilderness, but don't expect intense angst, hot tubs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:55:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24138475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayTDawgzone9999/pseuds/JayTDawgzone9999
Summary: The gang explores America.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Nanami Ryuusui, Chrome & Ishigami Senkuu, Chrome & Saionji Ukyo, Francois/Hanada Nikki, Hokutouzai Minami/Shishiou Tsukasa, Ishigami Senku & Saionju Ukyo, Kohaku/Mozu (Dr. STONE), Shishiou Tsukasa & Hanada Nikki
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> America is a big place and with the world of Dr. Stone being like it is, I find it fun to imagine what might/could/possibly/absolutely never except in my own imagination happen during everyone's times in America and so this fic was born. 
> 
> Chapters with smut are marked in the summaries.

There were a lot of interesting things in America, but to Senku's surprise, the one thing that wasn't unique to America-the sky-was perhaps the most interesting of them all. 

"Hey, check this out! The star off to the north is super bright!" Chrome yelled to Ukyo, encouraging the other man to look through the telescope Senku had brought along with them on their journey. 

"Wow, that's really bright." 

Ukyo was nothing if not quiet-the calm, level-headed former sonar technician rarely raised his voice or showed overt enthusiasm, but Senku couldn't help but smile when he saw how happy Chrome and Ukyo looked. Of their merry (more or less if you discounted a certain trio of questionable morals) little crew, Senku, Chrome, and Ukyo were the most enthusiastic about science, leading to the three becoming close friends. 

"That star's called the North Star." Senku told Chrome, who had just let Ukyo look at it through the telescope. 

"Oh, yeah, that's right-" Chrome was nothing if not enthusiastic, which never failed to cheer Senku up-it was the same reason why he was friends with Taiju, after all. "I think I remember you telling me that before." 

"Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems brighter than usual." Ukyo remarked, pausing a moment to ponder something he had been rolling around in his mind since he peeked through the telescope. "I wonder if that might be because this continent seems to be uninhabited-aside from us, there isn't anyone making anything to produce light at night." 

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense!" Chrome replied. "You know, it's weird how the sky looks a little different everywhere you go, but it's just as beautiful every time." Chrome turned back to Senku, pointing at the North Star. "Even after all this time, isn't it neat that no matter when you look up at the sky, the stars shine that brightly? That's bad as hell!" 

"I can't say I disagree." Senku glanced around looking for a comfortable looking spot to sit while Chrome turned to Ukyo, asking him what he thought about it as someone else from the modern age. 

For once, it was actually quiet enough to relax enough to enjoy the simple things in life-a rare treat that Senku was more than grateful for, the scientist sitting down near Chrome and Ukyo to enjoy the peace, calm, and beautiful view of the night sky-blissfully ignorant of things like Magma and Yo trying to shoot each other while wearing bulletproof vests, Gen and Ryuusui drinking their short and long term memories away while sharing the same foldable lawn chair, and Nikki looking on in horror holding a loose fishing net and a broken hockey stick while a half-naked Tsukasa was trying to wrestle a bear that had eaten $15 million of cocaine from a duffle bag dropped from a drug smuggler's airplane, both hunters as oblivious as everyone else that they weren't, in fact, alone on the American continent. 

Ah. How pleasant, Senku thought fully experiencing the bliss of ignorance like never before. Maybe America wasn't such scary place after all. In fact, it was, against all odds, interesting, in the good way, a much needed relief to Senku after the long, boring, difficult voyage everyone had been on until as recently as a few days ago. A curious sense of calm and well-being washed over Senku, bathing him in a flood of positive emotions as he managed (against all logic) to avoid gaining knowledge of whatever the rest of the group had been up to. For now, Senku was content to enjoy the moment and his friends for what they were, and for now, that was enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Being one of the last warm days they would likely experience until next spring, Senku allowed (entirely against his better judgment but he couldn't say no to Taiju and Yuzuriha,) everyone a day enjoying all the simple pleasures the beach had to offer. Senku knew little and less about the number and quality of beaches in California, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves after Yuzuriha made them all swimsuits and the temperature remained at a balmy 75 degrees farenheit with minimal humidity. 

"I've learned something recently." Senku, who was sitting on a lawn chair under an umbrella, told Ukyo, who was sitting on the ground under the same umbrella. 

Ukyo regarded him with the same calm smile he usually gave everyone before looking off in the distance at the rest of the group (or most of them, at least) enjoying the sun, sand, and ocean waves. 

"What would that be?" 

"I don't understand people." 

Aside from the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and some indistinct chatter from other people, it was relatively quiet, a rare blessing Senku vowed to savor for every second he was lucky enough to experience it. 

"I'm no expert on people myself," Ukyo replied "but if I've learned one thing in life, it's that it takes all kinds. We're all built different for a reason and I think that's part of what makes humanity special." 

"That sounds about right." Senku conceded, both men blissfully and peacefully oblivious of Kohaku and Kirisame sparring in their revealing swimsuits on the other side of the beach and Mozu observing them through a pair of binoculars he stole from Ryuusui, whistling to himself while Hyouga prepared to clock him upside the head with the blunt end of his spear. 

"For once, it's nice to just have a quiet day." Senku concluded, the stoic pair deciding to sit back and enjoy the pleasant weather and the beauty of nature. 

______

"So, uh...I have a question." 

Nikki and Tsukasa, who had been having a difficult time sine the regrettable bear incident, were staring down the desiccated remains of a large grizzly bear that had met its end at the hands of the strongest high school primate and $15 million worth of cocaine. Having processed (ethically and humanely, of course) what remains of the animal they were able to use, Nikki and Tsukasa were left with an unsettling question that offered no good answers: what to do with what was left of the bear. 

"It's a shame, really." Tsukasa ignored her question for the time being, a disgusted look on his face. "A country this size could easily support millions of people and the land could be used to produce enough food so no one would ever have to go hungry. Whats more, this could all be done easily without interfering with the native wildlife who live here and destroying their habitat." 

Nikki knew better than to interrupt Tsukasa when his mood darkened, and right then it was as dark as the sky had been last night with the new moon. She took a deep breath, waiting with nothing but plenty of patience as he continued. 

"From what we've seen of this place, though, it's doubtful that the people who lived here ever spared a thought to how their actions would affect the earth. If it were up to me, I wouldn't revive any of them-" 

It was a warm day, but the air inside the log cabin they were inside felt as cold as midnight in November. The goosebumps on Nikki's arms sent a chill down her spine, her pulse quickening as the momentary silence threatened to swallow her whole. 

"But it's not up to me now." Tsukasa took out a flask of beer from a small bag he had brought with him, taking the top off before continuing. "Which is why I understand why people invented this now." 

Tsukasa took out a cup, pouring some into it before handing it to Nikki. 

"At any rate, this is going to be a long and annoying afternoon cleaning this up before Taiju and Yuzuriha can find out what happened in their cabin." 

"No time like the present, I guess." Nikki thought, clutching the cup Tsukasa handed her before drinking just enough to take the edge off. After handing the empty cup back to Tsukasa, Nikki grabbed a shovel Tsukasa held out to here. "Here goes nothing." 

______

Three aggravating, downright miserable hours later, a tired, disheveled Nikki and Tsukasa finally cleaned up Taiju and Yuzuriha's hut, thoroughly destroying any and all traces of evidence of their unfortunate encounter with American wildlife the night before (they both thanked their lucky stars that Taiju and Yuzuriha just so happened to decide to stay with Senku last night.) 

"Well, at least some people have been having fun." Nikki remarked when she saw Taiju and Yuzuriha holding a huge starfish while Chrome touched it and Gen and Ryuusui lounging on a beach towel, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun by raising her hand to her forehead while Minami ran up to Tsukasa, greeting him with a hug. 

"More or less." Tsukasa partly agreed, grimacing when he saw Mozu and Kohaku yelling at each other a little farther out while Homura was burying Hyouga in the sand nearby, patting down the sand below his neck carefully to smooth it out; Tsukasa deciding not to comment anymore on what he saw while patting Minami's head. 

Tsukasa was a difficult person to read as far as his opinions about individual people were concerned, with Nikki being unable to tell if he found Minami attractive at all-if he did, it was nothing to her. She could have him all to herself as far as Nikki was concerned. Whether due to the nature of their long journey and being stuck together for so long or just people all getting to know each other as time went on, Nikki had noticed that many of the girls seemed interested in one of the guys but somehow, Nikki had never recalled finding any men she met interesting in that way. 

"I'm glad you're okay, you scared me half to death there-I didn't think you'd be gone that long." 

Minami squeezed Tsukasa tighter, Tsukasa not feeling a thing as he brushed some of her hair away from her face with his hand, looking back up as she loosened her not so strong grip and let go after noticing his gaze trailing off elsewhere. 

"It's alright, sometimes hunting takes longer than expected." Tsukasa reassured her, gently giving her hand a squeeze as he psyched himself up to do something that (quite unfortunately, he might add,) needed to be done. "In the meantime, we'll have to continue this conversation another time, there's something I need to take care of." 

Nikki glanced back in Tsukasa's direction (she was looking to the left while he had been looking to the right,) when she noticed a shark leaping out of the water; snatching the starfish out of Taiju and Yuzuriha's hands while Hyouga, who was wearing only a tiny thong as a bathing suit (Yuzuriha had almost run out of fabric by the time she got around to making his swimsuit,) broke up Kohaku and Mozu's fight by tapping them both with the blunt end of his spear, the three of them and Homura running off towards where the shark had landed. 

"Don't worry about it." Tsukasa gave Nikki a nod before making his way over to the shore to (hopefully) avert disaster, Nikki understanding what he meant immediately and wisely avoiding getting involved in a clusterfuck of a situation that she had no need to be directly connected to. 

____

"What a nice, quiet day it's been." Ukyo, who was with Senku in the mess hall helping Francois make bread, remarked, both men carefully following Francois's instructions to a T. 

"Yeah, definitely." Senku replied. "We've had enough days that weren't so great." 

"Certainly." 

Ukyo handed some flour to Francois, who placed it on a shelf before grabbing something else. Neither he nor Senku were big fans of tanning, sunbathing, or popular beach sports, so they had packed up and called it a day a little over 2 hours ago, both of them catching the attention of Francois as they walked back, who just so happened to need some help with baking. 

"Finally," Senku thought, sticking some bread in the oven when Francois told him to; the clever, creative butler beaming with pride at Senku and Ukyo's ability to learn quickly. "A nice quiet day and nothing annoying happened."


	3. Chapter 3

Science was a remarkable thing. Senku had always loved science and found it absolutely without a doubt fascinating beyond the wildest bounds of his imagination. So why, then, did he feel an uneasy dread wash over him when Francois announced they had made popcorn for everyone? 

"Calm down, Senku, this isn't like you." Senku couldn't help but make a face that showcased his concern for all to see when Francois handed him a small individual sized bag of popcorn.

"Hey, you okay, Senku?" Chrome, who had just shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth, asked him. 

"Ah, right on my clothes. Why the hell can't he chew with his mouth closed?" Senku bemoaned (privately, inside his own head, of course,) his foul mood clinging to him like a dryer sheet on a piece of clothing for reasons he couldn't identify. He hadn't seen Taiju or Yuzuriha in several hours, something which concerned him more and more as the day dragged on, morning turning into afternoon which morphed into evening. Sure, he had sent them out a while ago to collect some wood for fires, but this was getting ridiculous. On the other hand-

"Taiju and Yuzuriha are old enough to take care of themselves. So what is it I'm really worried about? Come on, think-" 

Senku's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of something crashing and someone yelling a variety of colorful obscenities. 

"Hey, Senku?" 

Oh. "Please stop chewing with your mouth open." Senku thought when Chrome spoke to him again. 

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"If you're not gonna eat that, can I have it?" 

"Sure." Senku got up, unable to ignore the dread seeping through his pores and enveloping him in pure uncomfortable insanity. "I left something in my room, I'll be back in a while." Senku lied, leaving his bag of popcorn for Chrome. 

"Okay, see ya!" 

"Ah, dammit, it's all over my tunic." Senku muttered once he was out of Chrome's earshot, brushing off the bits of popcorn Chrome got on it as he stalked off in search of Taiju and Yuzuriha. "Well, at least some things are always enjoyable." Senku thought when he looked up at the stars shining in the night sky, feeling a cool pleasant breeze on his skin while he stopped for a moment to stretch out a cramp in his arm. "Whatever else this place is, at least it's-" 

A deafening scream nearly burst Senku's eardrums as he was instantly bowled over by a terrifyingly fast moving mass of something; his ears still ringing as he heard shouting in the distance. 

"Oh shit, he's choking!" someone from Tsukasa's empire said when Yo, who had just eaten a handful of popcorn, grimaced in disgust and aggravation when he felt something stick to his teeth. 

No matter how hard he tried to get it out of his teeth, though, the damn kernel remained wedged in there tighter than his budget after he paid all his bills back when he lived in the modern era. 

"No, dumbass, I'm not choking, I'm-" 

"Don't worry, I got you!" Taiju yelled, crashing into Yo. 

"Oh, look, it's him again." someone said, with a second person adding their two cents in shortly after.

"Damn, that's one hell of a tackle." 

"Ow, what the fuck was that for?!" Yo hollered, trying to wrench himself free of Taiju's grip as Taiju tried to move himself into the right position to do the Heimlich maneuver.

"You said you were choking so I came to help!" Taiju hollered back. 

"No, dumbass, somebody else thought I was choking-" Yo paused to try to suck in more air while trying to get out of Taiju's grip. "I just got a piece of popcorn stuck between my teeth that won't come out-" 

"Don't worry, I got this, it's happened to me before-" 

Yo suddenly had the air knocked out of his lungs as Taiju pushed him over, reaching in his mouth to get the piece of popcorn out; Yo flailing around and whining in a confused, terrified voice all the time. 

"Just hold still, I got it-" 

"So as I was saying, it's never a dull day with Mozu even though I really wish I could say otherwise." Kirisame told Kinrou as the two were walking together, stopping only when they heard something that sounded like a cross between a fish gasping for water, a vacuum trying to suck up a bowling ball, and someone gargling mouthwash, all mixed in with screaming and shouting. 

"What on earth-"

When Kirisame and Kinrou stopped, they found a sweaty, panicky, pale-looking Yo lying flat on his back while Taiju, whose face was flushed due to exertion, had half his arm in Yo's mouth, and the two stone age warriors found themselves incapable of doing anything except gawking in surprise, confusion, and more than a little disgust. 

"It's not what it looks like-"

"We didn't ask..." Kinrou thought as Taiju yelled. 

"Yo just got a piece of popcorn stuck in his teeth." 

"We really didn't ask..." Kirisame thought. 

"Oh, hey, I got it, finally!" Taiju yelled after finding the piece of popcorn stuck in between Yo's teeth and yanking it out. "We did it!" 

"Ugh, my back..." Senku mumbled to himself as he slowly made his way to where Taiju was, looking up for mere seconds when he noticed Taiju before passing out. 

"Oi, Senku, not you too! Man, everyone's having problems tonight! Hey, Senku, don't you worry about a thing, I'm here to help!" 

"Modern people are weird." Kirisame muttered to Kinrou while Taiju bent down to give Senku mouth to mouth.

"Agreed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that anybody asked, but in case you don't know what dryer sheets are: https://www.cleancult.com/blog/what-do-dryer-sheets-do  
> spoiler alert: They don't always work as intended.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, some chapters will have smut and this is the first chapter for that so enjoy (or just wait for another chapter if that's not your thing, I'm not your mother.)

The beautiful colors of the sunrise was one of Tsukasa's favorite things about America. Even if he wasn't particularly fond of some of the company he was forced to keep in the vast, seemingly uninhabited country, Tsukasa couldn't deny that the land itself was a splendid display of all the beauty nature had to offer. The trees, growing undisturbed by foolish, short sighted people needlessly chopping them down to build hideous strip malls and tacky suburban housing developments, the vibrant, colorful plants-bushes, grass, and flowers of all sorts of shapes and sizes, the native wildlife, different animals of all types-mammals, reptiles, birds, even insects, he thought when he saw a stunning Monarch butterfly rest on a tree branch.

It was all so pure, so awe-inspiring and beautiful that he couldn't help allowing his mind to drift off, his thoughts and concerns slowly drifting away while he relaxed in the calm, shallow river he had been bathing in (there were showers, or at least there had been until the plumbing incident no one dared to speak about,) but Tsukasa had always preferred bathing outside at the crack of dawn or at the stroke of dusk somewhere nobody could find him on purpose. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a moment, unbothered by the coolness of the water. It made him feel clean, just like he wanted, especially considering how often he worked up a sweat sparring with everyone who knew how to fight to help them train. 

Perhaps this is what paradise must be like-Tsukasa's peaceful observation was soon interrupted by the sound of something breaking-most likely something made of glass if he had to hazard a guess, and before he could turn around to look, he heard someone gasp softly in surprise-he didn't even need to look to tell who it was but he did anyways to err on the side of caution. 

"Oh-I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here-" Minami, whose face was as red as a tomato, stammered, her struggle to tear her eyes away from his body being all too obvious to him. 

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Tsukasa reassured her. 

"Also, I didn't break the telescope if you were wondering." 

Tsukasa had no idea what she was talking about but found it safe to assume she was referring to the noise he heard earlier. Besides, if he was being honest, he had no reason to care, so he didn't mention it. 

"So, I, uh..." 

Tsukasa's expression remained neutral as Minami hesitated, her embarrassment painted on her face as clear as day. 

"Oh, uh, I remember-Senku said we were heading out by 8 am so we all need to be back at the main camp in-" she paused to check a pocket watch she pulled out-"about-" she swallowed hard when she caught another glimpse of Tsukasa's sculpted, perfectly muscled abs-"20 minutes." 

Of course that would be just my luck, wouldn't it, Tsukasa thought. "Thank you for telling me, I'll be sure to be there." 

Minami felt like her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest, run away, and never come back when she saw the barely noticeable smile Tsukasa gave her, a gesture so subtle and understated that to almost anyone else it would have escaped their notice entirely. Still, they both had somewhere to be, so she couldn't afford to waste time on silly, girlish flights of fancy. 

"Yeah, of course." She paused a moment to swallow-why is my mouth so dry, she wondered. "Again, I'm really sorry about interrupting-well, you know, finding you here-" 

"No need to worry about it, I'll see you soon." 

"Okay, well, bye then! See you!" 

Tsukasa waited a moment after Minami ran off, her face still red as when she had first laid eyes on him before cautiously getting out-he was technically already done when she found him but he didn't want to startle her anymore than he already had by getting out while she was there-the water just so happened to hide certain parts of him well enough, at least. When he finally got out, his hands were a little wrinkled from being in the water so long but he didn't care. 

"I should probably get dressed." he told himself, looking at his clothes nearby. Part of him had other ideas, specifically ones that didn't require clothes. 

The weather was gorgeous, not even the tiniest bit of excess cold, heat, or humidity to bother him in the slightest. And it was so quiet (besides what had just happened, of course.) 

"What's the harm, really?" he mused after drying off-there was an enormous tree by the river-a huge, massive thing with branches and leaves that could hide ten of him from the view of anyone on the other side of it, he realized as he sat down on one side, the shade perfectly shielding him from even the faintest hint of sunlight. 

Certainly, he acknowledged as he felt how hard he was, his hand loosely wrapped around his cock, he wouldn't need nearly as much time as he had available to do this-feeling an uncharacteristic sense of impatience, he started off with short, quick strokes, wasting no time with anything else. Though his rough, calloused hands were still slightly wrinkled from the water, each stroke felt better than the last, leaving him with the distinct impression that most of, if not all, of the blood in his body had rushed right between his legs, muffling a few low grunts and groans with his other hand as he stroked himself faster and faster. 

Tsukasa was surprisingly unimaginative where sex was concerned and notably not picky at all about women's physical appearance-the only thing he really preferred was long hair-it helped if it was blonde, but he didn't even really care about that all too much. Rarely did anything more exotic than fleeting images of random women-sometimes even without a specific face-pass through Tsukasa's mind when he touched himself. Sex was for people who had lots of free time, he thought, and spending most of his life being a professional fighter, caring for Mirai, building his empire, or working with Senku, Tsukasa could never find it in him to justify the waste of precious time sex would be. 

Still, Tsukasa found himself in a strange mood-maybe it was because he had been so relaxed before, or maybe it was simply a desire to find an excuse to spend a few more minutes by himself before heading back to the group. It wasn't like he had never thought of sex before-until then, however, he just didn't feel inclined to think about it outside of the abstract-to actually find himself burning with desire for-for-

It wasn't even anything all that impressive, really. When Tsukasa closed his eyes, all he imagined was holding the small, slim woman he had seen a few minutes ago close to him, close enough to feel her body heat and the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest while he was lying on top of her. For a moment, it felt so warm Tsukasa thought he had only been imagining having taken a bath in cool water minutes before and-

"Mmh, I'm-" he took a breath, inhaling sharply before continuing. "I'm gonna-" 

A flash of white-hot lightning burst behind his eyes and when he was in touch with reality again, he waited a moment, taking a few deep breaths to calm down before steadying his shaking hand and putting his clothes on, heading back to the rest of the group like nothing had happened. 

_____

"Well, this is unusual." 

Senku Ishigami was many things, namely an exceptionally brilliant and talented scientist, but even he found himself perplexed when he got a good look at the bizarre, nigh-unfathomable sight in front of him. There, in the middle of the American wilderness, sat something Senku (along with everybody else,) never expected to see: a giant ball of-

"Hey, Senku, what the heck is that thing?" 

"It looks weird." 

"Goddammit, I really need to stop drinking." 

For the first time in his not so long life, Senku found himself face to face with an unknown entity: something strange and ominous that both confused and frightened him. While some people started chatting with each other guessing what it might be, others stared in silence, unsure about what to say or do. 

"I'm not an expert on America," Senku began, catching everyone's (almost everyone's) attention. "But what I do know is that science can solve any problem. If we work together and cooperate, nothing is beyond our ability to handle." 

Somewhere in the crowd, Mozu, whose eyes were wandering over Kohaku's curves, wasn't paying attention and Hyouga cleared his throat, trying to resist the urge to tell Senku to just hurry up and get to the point, but otherwise, all eyes and ears were on Senku. 

"Ah, damn, I'm talking a big game but I'm just as confused as everyone else is. But I have to do something. Come on, Senku, think." he told himself. 

Just as a new thought was forming inside his brain, however, Taiju, always one to jump into action, did just that. 

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" he yelled, everyone standing around awkwardly either unable to decide how to react or else too busy focusing on Kohaku's ass (Mozu was many things, and an ass man was one of them.) "So I'm gonna go ahead and do it! Here goes!" 

Seconds passed, thought to Senku, they felt more like years as Taiju went up and touched the large object, suddenly causing a huge shadow to loom over everyone. 

"Hey, this feels kind of dry and scratchy-oh, wait, I know! I think it's a ball of twine-" 

Chaos erupted as the ball of twine started rolling towards everyone, with Tsukasa pushing Taiju out of the way just in time and everyone scattering as the giant ball rolled out of control, speeding off into the cavernous darkness of what had once been a ridiculously large industrial factory, not even Kohaku or Tsukasa able to see it once it disappeared into the darkness. 

"Okay, so that was mildly terrifying." Senku remarked. 

"Mildly? I almost wet my pants!" Ginrou complained. 

"Dammit, nobody needed to know that!" Kinrou scolded him after whacking him upside the head. 

"It seems like it disappeared though so we should be okay for now-" Senku managed to hide the concern in his voice and camouflage his emotions with a consciously constructed mask of calm on his face, at least until everyone noticed the look of pure terror on Ukyo's face. 

"Ukyo? What's wrong?" 

Ukyo, who had the most sensitive hearing of anyone in the world, found himself unable to respond, frozen in horror at what he heard after the ball of twine rolled away. 

"Ukyo?" 

"Hey, dude, you doing okay? You need to lie down or something?" 

In the blink of an eye, a sound that defied all description filled the air-somewhere deep inside, some secret long-forgotten instinct, something older than the human race itself-invaded Senku's consciousness. The source of knowledge may have been unclear but the knowledge Senku suddenly had was obvious-if they wanted to live, they needed to run. Now. 

"Man, thank God we got out of there, that was scary as hell." Taiju, who was paddling one of the canoes, told Senku, who was in the same canoe as him and Yuzuriha. 

"You said it." Senku was more than ready to put that weirdly dark chapter of their journey behind them. "Well, I doubt things can get much weirder after that." he assumed, at least until everyone noticed the waterfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ball of twine incident is based off of this: http://www.kansastravel.org/balloftwine.htm


	5. Chapter 5

Francois was a butler of many talents, especially where making food was concerned. A good butler always made sure their master could enjoy the finest (and healthiest) food the world had to offer, after all. This, however, was something outside of their ability to fully comprehend. 

"I hate them." Nikki complained after sobbing into a handkerchief Francois gave her. "I've always had a phobia of them and now that we're in America, they had to come out and-" 

Francois was no stranger to offering someone a shoulder to cry on, but even they didn't know everything and the life cycles of cicadas was something Francois had limited knowledge about. 

"They're just so gross! They crawl on everything and they have those beady eyes-it's like they're everywhere!" 

Though Francois was no expert on the local insect population of the Americas, one thing Francois could be counted on to do was bake the finest breads and pastries in the world, so when the odd but sweet girl Francois had developed a fondness for during their journey to American burst into the mess hall sobbing her eyes out, Francois had a perfect solution. There, in the quiet, cicada-free haven of four walls and a roof, Francois recruited Nikki to help them bake-there was always a good reason to keep their food supply topped off, after all, and from their personal experience, Francois knew the single most reliable way to cope with stress was to bake. 

"Thanks for letting me help you, by the way." 

"Don't mention it. Double the help means half the work, after all." 

Nikki's smile was as pure and innocent as anything Francois had ever seen and the butler was all too happy to introduce someone else to the joys of baking, especially someone as thoughtful and kind-hearted as her. If more people were like her, Francois thought while kneading a fist-sized lump of dough, the world would always be a wonderful place. 

______

"Hey, that's no fair, I thought you were the one who wanted to fight bare-handed this time." The smug undertone of Mozu's voice got on her nerves when after one of her sandals slipped off during their fight, she picked it up and threw it at him. 

"Since when have you ever cared about cheating?" Kohaku dodged a strike from him with relative ease after grabbing her sandal and tossing it aside (she had kicked the other one off after the first one slipped off.) 

"I won't argue about that one." Mozu, never one to show signs of being burdened by things like a sense of shame, peer pressure, or following rules, saw an opening and took advantage of it just the right way to get Kohaku all riled up. 

"Oh, how original." Kohaku muttered when he pinned her to the ground, straddling her hips as he held both her arms above her head. "I bet you thought you were being clever." 

"We all have our moments." 

If Mozu hadn't been pinning both her arms above her head, Kohaku would have face-palmed in sheer frustration. The annoying smug look on his face made her want to do other things too but she settled for wrenching free of his grip, snatching his earring off to distract him, and tackling him to the ground. 

"Why do you have that look on your face?" 

"What look?" 

Mozu was many things and being infuriatingly good at playing dumb was one of them. 

"The one you're giving me right now like you want to eat me." 

Mozu, undeterred by her obvious signs of being aggravated and flustered, reached up to snatch her hand and bring it to his mouth before she could push herself off him. It took a considerable amount of effort for Kohaku not to visibly freak out when she felt him brush his lips against her fingers and even more effort not to haul off and slap him when he told her that she looked cuter when she was angry. 

"Someday I swear I'm gonna-" 

An odd buzzing sound interrupted her train of thought, causing both Kohaku and Mozu to find themselves at a loss at how exactly to describe the sound. 

"Gonna what?" 

Damn him. Damn him and his stupid sexy-smug, Kohaku reminded herself-smug face and his stupid smug voice and his stupid sexy-

Kohaku sucked her teeth when Mozu gave her hand a squeeze-Someday, I swear, I'm gonna do something-

The buzzing noises started again, leaving them both dumbfounded. 

"What the-" 

A distressingly familiar feminine scream erupted, hurting both their eardrums as it was followed by an increase in the buzzing sound. 

Ah, Ginrou. Kohaku could smell trouble coming from a mile away-even when she was little, she always had a sort of sixth sense about when things were about to get ugly and her gut feelings proved to be right on point, thanks to the increasing swarms of cicadas deciding to personally acquaint themselves with Ginrou on an up close and personal level. 

On the other hand, Kohaku thought as Mozu got up, pulling her onto his lap while she was distracted, Kohaku had never been one to avoid trouble. Perhaps that was why, against her better judgment, she found herself finding more and more excuses to spend free time with Mozu and more and more excuses to convince herself it was just because they were allies working for the same side now. 

"Ahhh, get away from me! Get away!" Ginrou wailed as Matsukaze tried in vain to get the cicadas off him, fruitlessly attempting to shoo them away by hitting Ginrou with a towel stolen from-well, the less said about that, the better-Ginrou howling and sobbing in fright while Matsukaze kept on yelling and trying to get close enough to Ginrou to sweep the bugs off him while Ginrou was running in circles having one of the top 17 most epic freakouts of his life. 

"Seems there's always something different happening with this group." Mozu mused, not flinching at all when a single cicada landed on him, perching itself on his shoulder for a moment before flying off. 

"That's one way to put it." Though part of her (the hormonal part, specifically,) didn't want to get up just yet, Kohaku knew better than anyone else what had to be done and the longer she waited, the more annoying it would be. 

"Where are you headed off to?" 

"I gotta save my friend from another nervous breakdown." Kohaku replied as she pulled herself off Mozu's lap. 

If the night air suddenly felt a little cooler after she did so, she refused to comment on it. 

Oh, what the hell. I got nothing better to do, Mozu told himself as he headed off with Kohaku to save Ginrou from spiraling into yet another bout of acute emotional turmoil. 

____

"So that, Nikki, is how you make 2 and a half dozen raspberry danishes in 45 minutes. Any questions?" 

Nikki started longingly at the cute, bite-sized little desserts she and Francois had so perfectly and aesthetically arranged on a simple white serving plate. 

"Can I marry you?" 

A sudden scream followed by a crashing sound and the sound of something fragile (specifically Ginrou's emotional state and a couple of cheap, low-quality folding chairs,) breaking rudely interrupted the calm, peaceful atmosphere inside. 

"Haha, that little pipsqueak is popular with our new little friends." 

"Oh my God, Ginrou, get back here! And put your damn clothes back on, there might be children around!" 

"Master Ginrou, please be careful, that's a-" 

A uniquely unsettling thump sound was followed by more screaming, along with the sound of flesh hitting flesh as Kohaku slapped Mozu for grabbing her ass while Suika had wandered nearby looking for her helmet that she lost earlier (neither of them had actually noticed her there until it was too late, not that it helped matters.) 

"It seems we've finished baking just in time." Francois replied, setting the tray down on the table. "I have a feeling these will be a big hit." 

"Uh, yeah, definitely!" Nikki's heart was about to explode in her chest, but she dare not say anything, especially when-

"Ahhhhhhhh!" 

"Hey, Mozu, get over here, he's bleeding!" 

Mozu snickered when he saw Ginrou lying face down with one of his legs bent near a large rock, the cicadas still buzzing around like crazy, but went to go help Kohaku anyways. 

"Master Ginrou! Please answer me! Are you still alive?!" 

"Of course I'm alive, I just almost got eaten alive by creepy murder bugs and now that I hurt myself, they'll remember the smell of my blood and bring their buddies back to go in for the kill!" 

The danishes smelled really good, Nikki had to admit, but surely it would be rude to eat one before everyone else had a chance, she thought as she heard another crashing sound followed by more screaming and yelling. As the buttery sweet smell gathered in the room, Nikki took a deep breath, her right hand balled into a fist as Francois began searching for some smaller plates. Maybe being revived in the stone age by one of the world's most famous professional fighters wasn't such a bad thing after all. Not a bad thing at all, she thought as Francois handed her a plate and asked her if she wanted to split one with them.


	6. Chapter 6

Gen was many things (attractive being one of them according to Ryuusui,) and of those many things, one of the things Gen considered himself to be was stylish. Sure, he was wasted as fuck and so was Ryuusui, but neither of them gave a shit about that, especially not Ryuusui, who was busy appreciating how Gen's legs looked in a tiny blue dress. 

"So, what do you think, dear Ryuusui?" Gen stumbled a bit, but managed to keep his balance long enough to strike a pose before walking towards the-well, he had no idea what Ryuusui was lying on but it looked comfortable enough-flashing the captain a cheeky grin as well as any drunk person could. 

"What do I think? I'll tell you, that's what I'm gonna do-" Ryuusui paused to take another swig of beer before continuing-"I think that dress would look better if it were on the floor." 

"But we're already on the floor-" Gen slurred, his brain cells slowly dying off after he stumbled again, just barely managing to catch himself before falling down on the-neither of the intoxicated men could really be sure what they were lying on, but it sure was soft and comfortable. 

"Oh yeah-guess we are..." Ryuusui grabbed Gen, pulling the smaller man closer to him. "Well, you're cute no matter what you're wearing." 

_____

It wasn't often Kohaku had enough spare time to relax and soak in the cool, refreshing water in the small, shallow lake near the group's current shelter (a strange, large structure that resembled a long-abandoned warehouse) after bathing, but perhaps even she could enjoy some good luck once in a while. Not like I get to relax like this every day, Kohaku told herself while she watched the sky, painted in stunning hues of orange and pink, as the clouds slowly shifted and blended together as the sun prepared to begin its descent under the horizon. Knowing she had only a few minutes left to savor the peace and quiet, Kohaku resolved to enjoy it to the fullest, pushing her worries and concerns away until the time came where she had to make her way back to the group. 

All was well, or well enough at least, until after Kohaku got out and wrapped a towel around herself and noticed, much to her distress, that her clothes were gone. 

"You've gotta be kidding me-" Kohaku was 99% prepared to go on the war path and hunt down whoever was responsible until she heard a familiar pair of footsteps and turned around, shooting the visitor a look that could kill. 

"If you stole my clothes, I'm going to dump you in that weird ditch we found and leave you for the bears-" 

Mozu, undisturbed by the anger in her voice, gave a noncommittal shrug."Now why would I do that?" 

"Because this is you we're talking about." Kohaku picked up a nearby rock and held it by her side, ready to use it for any number of purposes if the situation called for it, although she hoped it wouldn't come to that. 

"Believe me, if I wanted to see you naked-not that I'm gonna complain that you are-you'd know." 

Whether it was an actual physical reaction or just her imagination, Kohaku could have sworn she felt herself blink. "You never change, do you?" 

"Well, if nothing's broken, then there's no need to fix it." 

"I'm glad you have a generous amount of self esteem" Kohaku squeezed the rock a little before tossing it aside. "But you really need to work on your people skills." 

The breeze outside wasn't particularly cool, but since Kohaku was still wet, she couldn't help but shiver a little. Oh, to wipe that smug smirk off his face, Kohaku thought, resisting the urge to smile for a brief moment before her thoughts suddenly veered off in a different direction, one that made her uncomfortably aware that her body and her brain were rather divided on what they thought about Mozu. 

"Maybe." Mozu conceded-whether he cared or not wasn't something Kohaku could make an accurate guess on from his tone of voice-his gaze shifted to her bare legs for a moment before returning to her face. "You know, if you're cold, we can always head back to my room-" 

"You know, you're not making yourself look good here." Kohaku swallowed before continuing, uncomfortably aware of the extra chill that shot up her spine when he spoke that wasn't just from the outdoor air. "And if someone happened to knock you out right now, it might be that nobody would be able to find you until after you got eaten by a wild animal." 

"No need to be like that-" God, why was his voice like, well, the way it was, Kohaku wondered, that uncomfortable shiver up her spine unraveling the thoughts in her brain. "How about this, I'll help you look for them." 

Kohaku regarded him with momentary suspicion before realizing Mozu was way too bold to go through that much trouble to lie about something when he could just as easily do it right in front of her face and watch her reaction. Honestly, it's probably my best shot anyways, she acknowledged. "Fine-but if anyone asks any questions, you better not say anything stupid or you'll regret it." 

The dysfunctional pair set off, time passed, and eventually the two of them made their way to the upper level of the ugly, semi-decayed building they had been forced to take shelter in. Luckily, nobody had seen them yet, but after checking room after room, Kohaku's mood was sinking just as fast as her aggravation was rising. Mozu was too stupid to be this good at hiding anything, and also far too impatient to go through that much trouble to increase his chances of getting his dick wet, so for now, she supposed, she would let him live. It didn't help, however, that it was now dark outside and the night was proving to be rather cold, and the building they were staying in was poorly insulated at best, lacking anything resembling a central heating system (Kohaku only knew as much about modern technology as Senku had told her about but when he explained to her the wonders of central heating and air conditioning, she decided it sounded nothing less than heavenly.) 

"Oh, hey, look, it's a lizard-" 

What the-Kohaku tensed up when she heard Ginrou's voice-dammit, why did it have to be him of all people- she bemoaned her tragically embarrassing fate should her hapless friend find her with Mozu, wearing nothing but a towel. 

"Master Ginrou, be careful, it might be poisonous!" Matsukaze's worried voice rang through the hallway, somewhere far enough away that they couldn't see her and she couldn't see them. 

"Dammit, why did it have to be them?" Kohaku grumbled, shifting her weight on one foot awkwardly as she considered whether to try to make a run for it or try to stay still and be quiet so they would hopefully not notice her and turn around. 

"Oh, ew, gross, it's creepy!" Ginrou yelled when the lizard crawled up its leg, chasing a fly that flew near Ginrou, darting its tongue out to capture and devour the insect before it could even notice a thing. "Get it off me!" 

"Wait, hold still, master Ginrou!" 

Mozu glanced over in the direction their voices were coming from, unable to hold back a snicker of amusement when he heard Ginrou yelling incoherently and Matsukaze begging Ginrou to be careful and not run around like a dog trying to chase its own tail. 

"What're you laughing at, it's not funny!" Kohaku complained in a strained whisper-"What if they find us?" 

"Don't be ridiculous, the two of them couldn't find their way out of a storehouse-" the sound of footsteps and a strange hissing sound interrupted them, leading to what Kohaku was sure to end up as one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. 

The lizard perched on Ginrou's shoulder hopped off, leaping away to who knows where while Ginrou and Matsukaze, (mostly Ginrou,) gaped at Kohaku like she had three heads. 

Oh, hell, I'm not dealing with this-Kohaku thought when Ginrou finally opened his mouth. 

"What're you doing with him-" the creak of the floor barely distracted any of them while Ginrou's eyes darted away from Mozu and back to her after getting a good look at her fit, athletic frame covered only by a small towel. 

"What business is that of yours-" 

The creaking sound happened again, but louder the second time, causing the area under Kohaku and Mozu to collapse while Ginrou and Matsukaze, who were far enough away, to stare on in horror as the two warriors fell through the floor-

_____

"Well, I must say, Gen, my boy, you have the best sense of style of any man or woman I've ever had the pleasure of meeting-" 

As the hole in the ceiling opened up without warning and Kohaku and Mozu fell through it, Ryuusui and Gen barely had time to look up and scream. 

"Ugh, my head....." Ryuusui moaned, rubbing his head. "What the hell happened?" 

"Your head hurts? Well my ass hurts-" Gen complained, struggling to get up but ultimately managing to support himself on a steel beam on one side of the room for a moment before an enraged Kohaku made eye contact with him. 

Gen and Ryuusui's terrified screams filled the building, causing people to freak out and scatter in all different directions, the specific direction they headed in depending on where they happened to be at the time, while Mozu sat back on whatever it was that Gen and Ryuusui had been fooling around on. Smirking while he got a front row view of Kohaku beating the living hell out of the intoxicated mentalist and the wasted captain, the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smug, self-satisfied grin, noting with an equal amount of satisfaction that the view he got of Kohaku's legs and ass during the whole epic disaster was nothing short of perfect.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some smut in it, so there's your warning if you need it, do with it what you want.

The human race was no doubt filled with a truly diverse variety of people, all with their own unique personalities, temperaments, and motivations. Yet during the journey halfway across the world to revive all of humanity and defeat the Why-Man, Senku realized that despite the natural differences between people, they all seemed to share a universal trait: the urge to break up the monotony of traveling by investigating some downright unexplainable thing they found while en route to their intended destination. 

"What the..." 

Somewhere in the crowd of hapless stone age citizens surrounding the strange pale object that bore and uncomfortable similarity to a giant testicle, someone's eyes darted around back and forth, making sure nobody was watching them before they took a nice hearty swig of some booze they stole from Francois's secret stash. 

Why, Senku asked himself as he gawked at the unfortunately shaped object along with everyone else, was humanity so fucking weird? Senku knew everything there was to know about things like science and mechanics, but this was something outside even his impressive range of knowledge. There, sitting on the ground all by itself, doing exactly what was expected of an inanimate object (nothing,) it gnawed away at Senku's increasingly fragile psyche. He knew (probably,) that it wasn't what it looked like, but what it looked like creeped him the hell out, so Senku, doing what he did best, roped in one of the warriors (Matsukaze, specifically, as he was standing closest to it,) to investigate it. 

It all started with a canoe ride. 

"Ow, my ass!" Ginrou yelled after he accidentally crashed his canoe on a huge rock on the side of the river, smashing it against a large rock, and fell over after he just barely managed to escape onto dry land when Magma, who was busy laughing at him, crashed his canoe into the rock 5 seconds later. One accident led to another and before Senku could react, half the group had crashed into the same rock Ginrou had, halting their progress for the day in what seemed to be little more than the blink of an eye. 

"Well, this is problematic." 

"You're problematic!" 

Hyouga, who wasn't really paying attention, rolled his eyes when Taiju, who had picked up the giant rock, yelled that anyone who insulted Senku would have to go through him. It wasn't until after Senku told everyone that they would take some time to build more canoes later and just use the rest of day to relax that Kohaku noticed some strange shape looming ominously in the distance. 

Against everyone's better judgment, the all-too-human urge to go check it out won and in 15 minutes, everyone found themselves staring at the-

"Yeah, I got nothing." Ukyo sheepishly admitted after, when poor Matsukaze touched it and passed out and Ukyo helpfully offered to shoot it, his arrow split in two upon contact. 

"We're all gonna die, aren't we?" 

"No, we're not going to die." Kinrou scolded Ginrou after Ginrou, who started crying, blew his nose on his older brother's shirt. 

"But I'm still a virgin, I don't wanna die!" 

"Oh, good grief..." 

Senku sighed, holding his head in frustration after Tsukasa, Hyouga, Kohaku, and Mozu attacked it at the same time, only to find themselves unable to even put a dent in the thing. "Okay, plan B, let's not do that." he conceded after the four of them failed to do something that should have, by all logic, worked out perfectly well. 

"Hey, Yuzuriha, watch out, it might be dangerous!" Taiju yelled while Senku stared on with a concerned look on his face when she cautiously approached the mystery object, reaching her hand out to feel its odd, slightly bumpy surface. 

"It feels like paint." 

"Huh?" 

"No, really." her voice sounded calm enough, although Senku couldn't help but wonder why something of the size and shape of the mystery object would feel like paint of all things. "I think it's just a giant ball of paint-" 

Screams filled the strange, empty area they had found themselves in as Taiju swept Yuzuriha off her feet and carried her to safety as the giant ball of paint shattered into billions of little paint chips. 

"You know, it still kind of smells like paint, actually." Ukyo remarked as he bent down to pick up one of the paint chips, the look on his face suggesting he was deep in thought. "Americans sure are weird people-or were, I guess." 

"Well, that was a colossal waste of time." Hyouga muttered to nobody in particular as the group made a unanimous decision to fuck back off in the direction they came. 

_____

After the paint ball incident and several hours of fruitlessly searching for more corn later, Senku decided to call it a day, finding somewhere nice and cozy to curl up inside his sleeping bag and get some shut eye. Not everyone, however, was ready to end the day so soon, with some finding more unusual ways to pass the time than others. 

"It's been a while since I've gotten some training in." Kohaku thought to herself as she walked around the area they had set up camp in for the night. Though she had been hoping to find Kirisame, as it had been a while since the two of them had trained together, Kohaku found her former colleague instead (or whatever he was, Kohaku didn't know and neither Mozu or Kirisame ever bothered to elaborate.) 

Mozu usually stayed up until the stars were visible in the sky, so running into him didn't surprise her much, what surprised her was where she found him. 

"Hyouga and I just built this a little while ago, the water's still warm." 

Building a hot tub in the middle of the wilderness was weird enough. Sharing the hot tub with Hyouga and Homura was even weirder. Then again, if anyone was an expert in being weird, it was Mozu. 

"I mean, it's pretty damn nice if I say so myself." 

"That's because I did more of the work." Hyouga added, ignoring Kohaku. 

"You say that about everything, show off." Mozu turned back to Kohaku like nothing had happened before continuing while Homura floated on a pool noodle stolen off the Perseus a while back. "No need to be shy, there's plenty of room." 

"Shyness has nothing to do with it, I'm just confused." 

"About what? You've never seen a hot tub before?" 

"That's not the point." 

But, then, what was the point, Kohaku asked herself. Honestly, even she wasn't sure. All she knew was that it had been a hell of a long day and all she wanted was a way to relax and leave the day's worries and aggravation behind her. 

"Well, since I like you, Kohaku, I'll let you in on a secret." 

Oh boy. Whatever he was about to say, no way was she going to be ready for it. 

"Life has no point, so if you want to make a hot tub and relax for a while, why not?" 

After looking around for a minute, seeing nothing but wilderness, and hearing nothing but crickets and an owl, Kohaku shrugged, taking off her sandals and dress. After all the bullshit she'd been through since their journey to America, what's the worst that could happen? 

____

Damn, this really does feel nice, Kohaku thought as she gently but firmly removed Mozu's arm from her shoulder-the way she had been leaning back, she had been in the perfect position to just relax and really get nice and comfortable, ignoring the indistinct chatter of whatever the hell Hyouga and Homura were talking about. A chubby squirrel jumped onto a nearby tree, darting up its trunk to make its way back into its hole for the night, causing a bird perching in the tree to squawk in response as the squirrel got a little too close. 

"Well, now that we're here, I just so happened to be thinking of something." 

"It better be something important, because if it involves moving from this spot, you'd have to pay me for it." 

A spider happened to make its way near the hot tub, causing Homura to whack it with her pool noodle, sending it straight to spider heaven with same day (or night,) shipping, but Kohaku couldn't be bothered to pay attention, only opening her eyes again when Mozu closed the gap of space between them, though without putting his arm around her shoulder. 

"That's probably rather subjective, but it doesn't have to be important to be fun." 

"Of course, why didn't I think of that?" Kohaku added with a bit of sarcasm in her voice before Mozu continued. "You know what I meant-" If Kohaku hadn't been so comfortable, she might have rolled her eyes when Mozu suggested finishing the night in her tent. "Well, unfortunately for you," she responded "I'm sharing my tent with Suika-you know, the 9 year old girl." 

"Well, I'm not sharing my tent with anyone-" 

Guess some things never change, Kohaku thought when she heard a shrill scream and Kinrou's voice yelling at Ginrou for something or other-she supposed ridiculous arguments were part of having a brother. Obviously, she had no personal experience with the subject, but Kohaku was really glad Ruri was her only sibling. 

"Ahh, dammit, my spear! Ginrou, I know you can't fix it but you're going to help me find someone who can teach you how to so maybe you'll learn your lesson for once-" 

Kohaku, having just about enough of being involved in other people's problems, knew when to make a tactical retreat as she heard footsteps approaching-huh, guess he had the same idea, Kohaku thought when she noticed Hyouga and Homura had already left. That was why, (or so she told herself,) when Mozu rested his hand on her thigh, she gave it a squeeze and him a knowing nod when they both glanced over to their left and saw two familiar shapes stop a certain strongest high school primate who was walking nearby. In another universe, one with a lot less weird ass bullshit, Kohaku would be doing something like this with Senku, but the universe was what it was, Senku showed no interest in women, and Mozu, though he could be a handful to deal with, managed to upgrade his personality enough for them to be-Kohaku still wasn't sure what it was yet and Mozu didn't have any better of an idea either, but it worked well enough. 

Mozu's tent wasn't any nicer than hers (all the tents were the same, the only difference being in how neat their occupants were,) but the bear pelt she was lying on was certainly a lot nicer than the blanket in her own (Suika and her blanket were safely in Taiju and Yuzuriha's tent for the time being, Kohaku thankful the two of them were as helpful as they were,) not that it did anything to dampen the urge she had to twist out of Mozu's grip and give him the same treatment he gave her when he pinned her down; one hand on her thigh while the other was resting by her face. Though she managed to get on top of him, it didn't last, as Mozu wasted no time flipping her over again. It wasn't especially warm out, but Kohaku and Mozu had long since stripped off what they had been wearing in the hot tub and despite being naked in a tent made out of not-so-insulating material, the little electric sparks of warmth dancing on Kohaku's skin as both of them skipped more than a few seconds of kissing before Mozu dipped his hand between her legs, just about to-

Oh, fuck-Kohaku's stomach dropped when she heard the crack, both of them managing to roll just far enough out of the way (which happened to be outside the tent,) before a tree fell, crashing on the tent. 

"So anyways, I apologize again for bothering you, and thank you for your help." 

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad I could help." Kirisame reassured Kinrou while Kinrou turned to Ginrou, who was walking on his other side, letting him know that he did a good job on his first attempt to fix his spear. 

"Sorry I'm such a klutz." 

"Hey, it's okay, I know I yell at you sometimes, but you're a quick learner and you should be proud of yourself." Kinrou assured him. "As long as you work hard and don't slack off, you'll be as good a fighter as any of the other fighters-" 

The three of them stopped dead in their tracks as a tree fell, crashing to the ground a few feet away from them and crushing someone's tent underneath it. What they saw on the ground nearby, though, was much weirder. 

Of all the people in the world....Kohaku's heart was slamming in her chest and her face was as red as tomato as she realized just who was looking at her while she was naked in Mozu's arms. 

"Uh.....damn, what's-this is, uh-" 

While Ginrou stuttered like he had forgotten how to speak, Kirisame's face was even redder than Kohaku's, Kinrou staring wide eyed and moving so little, Kohaku wasn't sure he was still breathing as she prayed to anything and everything that she could just sink into the ground and disappear forever. Why did America have to be like this, Kohaku cursed to herself as Ginrou, whose nose had started bleeding, passed out cold right on top of Kirisame, leaving Kinrou shaking his head in disbelief as he struggled to decide what, if anything, he could (or should,) do to solve the epic disaster unfolding in front of his eyes ruining his otherwise pleasant night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part about the giant paint ball is based off of this: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9792


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one has some smut at the end so do whatever you want with that information.

As far as jobs go, being a butler wasn't the kind of job that let someone have a lot of free time so when Francois had finished all their duties for the day with-they checked their watch-45 minutes of time to spare before checking in with Ryuusui again, they found themselves at a loss. 

"You know, I like America." Nikki, who was walking next to Francois as the two of them made their way through a short little path near the woods. "The weather's not as bad as I thought it would be either." 

Having spent most of their life devoted to working for Ryuusui, Francois never really developed any hobbies, so when they found themselves with unexpected free time, Nikki asked them if they wanted to go on a walk. It was nice enough outside and there was really nothing else to do so why not, Francois decided. Besides, of the dozens of people who had traveled halfway around the world to find some corn and save humanity, Nikki, Francois discovered, was one of the most pleasant of the bunch. 

"I agree. Of course, it looks nothing like it did the last time I saw it, but it's still a very beautiful country regardless." 

A soft rustling sound, followed by a loud thump and some laughter broke their train of thought momentarily. 

"Hey, Kinrou, check this out!" 

"Eww, what the fuck dude, that's gross!" 

"Shut up, Magma, nobody asked you!" 

"Goddammit, you two, get a hold of yourselves for crying out loud! You're both adults (or close enough,) act like it!" 

Francois closed their eyes for a moment, concentrating on taking a breath of the nice cool evening air while a frog hopped from one lily pad to another on a nearby pond. Francois held no prejudices against people of any race, gender, or sexual identity, but after some time in the stone world, they found that while some of them were nice enough, Francois found themself preferring the company of people from the modern era over their stone age counterparts. Culture was a rather subjective thing, after all. 

"And then, anyways, I guess I never should have said that-Oh, are you okay?" Of everyone Francois had met since being revived, Nikki had shown more concern for everyone than anyone else they had ever met before (besides Ryuusui, of course.) "I forgot you probably don't want to walk as far as I would, if you're tired, we can stop and rest for a while." 

"No need, I'm fine," Francois assured her. "I was just thinking about something-" 

"Fucking hell, man, I told you, that was my gun, give it back, you don't even know how to shoot the damn thing!" 

"Oh yeah, you wanna find out?! We can find out alright motherfucker-" 

Without warning, Francois was swept off their feet by Nikki, who safely spirited them away from the line of fire of Magma trying to shoot Yo. 

"I'm really sorry, but I'll be right back, I promise!" Francois watched with a neutral expression as Nikki ran off a few feet in the distance to deliver a one-two hit to the family jewels on Magma and Yo, causing them both to go down for long enough for her to run back to Francois. 

______

Time passed, the setting sun soon finished its descent under the horizon, and Nikki and Francois both decided it was as good a time as any to turn back. Though Francois had no personal experience with romance and neither did Nikki, both of them were in mutual agreement that during the course of their journey, they had grown to enjoy spending time with each other and felt a certain fondness for each other that felt much different from what either of them had ever felt for anyone else. It was a bit weird, but tolerable, Francois decided. 

More than anything else, Francois respected people who were capable, thoughtful, and kind-hearted, and Nikki was all of those and much more. It was a shame, truly, that Francois had to report back to Ryuusui in about 15 minutes, but the duties of a butler stopped for nothing. 

"As nice as it's been to spend the evening with you, I'm afraid this is where we have to part ways." Francois explained. "I need to report back to Ryuusui in a few minutes." 

"Oh, that's fine-" Though it was starting to get dark out, Francois could still see the light pink color dusting Nikki's cheeks. "Uh, do you want me to walk you back?" 

"I'll be alright, but thank you." 

"Alright, if you say so-" Nikki's heart was pounding a mile a minute-this feels weird, she thought. Way too weird. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and she didn't know how to even begin describing any of them. Still, an idea, unbidden, came to her. It was kind of scary. Is this-even just to ponder it was startlingly uncomfortable-is this what it feels like to like someone? 

Poor Nikki didn't even realize she had been squeezing Francois's hand until the slim, petite butler looked up at her with a knowing smile, calm and content. 

"You're a very sweet girl, Nikki. I think anyone would be honored to be able to know you, and I would know, because I've met more people than most people have seen in their entire lives." 

Nikki, never one to under-react to even the slightest gesture of kindness, could barely control herself, but she had no choice. As much as she wanted to hug Francois, she steadfastly resisted the urge-moving too fast would ruin everything, she thought, and then she'd be so embarrassed she'd die and all sorts of terrible things would happen, not necessarily in that order. 

"Oh, uh-" Her throat was so dry and her head was spinning, but she had to calm down, she told herself. "Uh, well, I think-you're very sweet, too! I'm glad we met!" 

Francois wore the same small smile as before, gently giving Nikki's hand a squeeze before letting go. "I'm glad to have the opportunity to meet someone like you. Tomorrow, or whenever we have time, let's take a walk together again." 

"Uh, yeah, sure! Sure thing! I'll see you!" Nikki waved to Francois as they headed off, Nikki watching her much smaller friend grow even smaller in the distance with each step they took. 

Oh my God, I'm gonna throw up-Nikki thought, too flustered and scatterbrained to focus as she knelt down by a tree, resting her hand on it for support. "Come on, Nikki, breathe, breathe in, breathe out, you can do it-" her pep talk took a few seconds to really kick in but after a while, her nerves eventually calmed down enough to let her get up again. 

What should I do now? She asked herself, a question that, at the time, seemed to have no good answers. Perhaps a minute or so passed before she found a solution for her dilemma, deciding to keep on heading back to camp. A good night's rest was important, after all, and Nikki had always prided herself on adhering to a healthy, functional sleep schedule. 

Despite being one of the stronger members of the group, Nikki often found that she preferred to spend most of her time away from the other warriors (besides Tsukasa, at least, who had proven himself to be a person of significantly better character than she thought at first.) She supposed she could always go chat with him for a while, but when he wasn't busy cooking up incomprehensibly elaborate plans with Senku, he was usually chatting with Minami about something or other-Never mind, Nikki thought-Minami was nice enough, she supposed, but when the woman got on a subject she was interested in, she never shut up and although she never said anything really nasty about people, her penchant for gossiping and her habit of crying at the drop of a hat when feeling any kind of strong emotion was tough to handle at the best of times. Senku was alright, but Nikki knew better than to get involved if he was talking to anyone-once he got in the zone where he was planning stuff or planning about planning stuff, there was no getting a word in edgewise. Oh well, no big deal, I should go to sleep soon anyways, she reminded herself as she made her way back.

Really, though, most of the citizens of the Kingdom of Science were decent people, if a little eccentric (the strange warrior who looked and acted like an ancient samurai was a bit of an oddball and the less said about how many brain cells Ginrou had, the better,) and Nikki was as grateful as anyone to be given a new chance at life after the old world was destroyed, but that didn't mean she didn't miss some things about how it was before. Like electricity, Lillian Weinberg's music, and her phone. Senku managed to make enough lights for people to see at night, but it really just wasn't the same. It's not such a bad group we've got going on here, though, Nikki decided, enjoying the cool night with a gentle breeze, low humidity, and a clear sky that gave her a stunning view of the stars and the full moon. 

Hearing some indistinct chatter of other people was to be expected at this time of night, Nikki knew as much ever since her days in the Empire of Might, but as she got closer to camp, passing by a group of the tree-houses some of the more creative members of their group had decided to build, Nikki tensed up a little when she heard a certain not-so-restrained teasing laughter in the distance, followed by the sound of a somewhat more feminine voice muttering something in a sly, almost mocking tone, as if they were sharing a joke not meant for other people's ears. 

Nikki held her breath for a moment as she saw two familiar figures in the distance below on the tree houses, the loud, boisterous blonde warrior who could single-handedly outmatch any of the other women in a fight and the tall, smug warrior with dreadlocks and the same facial markings-or maybe tattoos, Nikki couldn't tell one way or the other-as the girl with the excellent throwing arm. Kohaku was okay enough, even if for some reason the two of them never became friends, although Nikki could do without the blonde girl's all too frequent yelling, and the less said about Mozu in any capacity, the better-like Hyouga and Homura, she didn't like the look in his eyes when he smiled and unlike the other two who were at least passably polite when they had no other choice, Mozu's penchant for smiling at all the wrong things at all the wrong times left Nikki with nothing positive to say about him at all. 

"You know, I wonder what happened to all those crocodiles. After we turned the ones we saw when we first landed into dinner, I've never seen any more of them-" Mozu paused for a moment as if he were puzzling through something in his head without actually doing so-a habit of his that Kohaku soon realized was totally unique to him-"Maybe we made them go extinct." 

"Probably." Kohaku shrugged, hauling the blanket made out of a handful of fox pelts that she had been holding over her shoulder. "I never liked reptiles." 

Though the fear that one or both of them would notice her was by no means insignificant, after pausing for a moment, Nikki realized the logical thing to do would be to keep walking like she hadn't noticed them, knowing that it would be the least likely thing to raise any suspicion. Oh well, you can't get along with everyone, she reminded herself, doing her best to ignore them, especially Mozu. 

"You're gonna call it a day already?" Mozu asked when Kohaku grabbed one of the branches, preparing to climb up to make her way inside her tree-house. "It's kind of early, don't you think?" 

"Well, the best way to stop being bored after dark is to go to sleep." Though she really did feel that way, the real motivation involved the crisp, cool breeze outside, which gave her a powerful urge to climb up into her tree-house and curl up under her blanket to get all nice and toasty warm and relax for a while and gaze at the stars through the window, the perfect way to end a long day filled with work and physical labor if anyone asked her. "Especially now that I have a new blanket."

Mozu, of course, wasted no time asking her something else. 

Nikki took a deep breath, turning on her heel and heading off without giving either of them so much as a glance when Mozu continued their conversation. In a few minute's time, after safely making her way to a makeshift shack she shared with two other girls, after finding herself the first one there, she decided enough was enough and as soon as she closed the flap covering the opening, she curled up in her own sleeping sack and closed her eyes. 

"Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you sometimes." Kohaku muttered when, while taking off her dress, Mozu unhooked her bra and stepped back, smirking at the flustered look on her face when she snatched it off the ground, throwing it at his face before sitting down on a pile of old furs and pillows. 

"Don't be ridiculous, you know the answer as well as I do." 

"Really?" Kohaku huffed when he dodged out of the way effortlessly, Kohaku pushing her new blanket to the side so it wouldn't be ruined by their planned (or not so planned) activities. "Because you managed to seduce all the girls in the harem on Treasure Island, you think you're an expert on this, don't you?" 

"I mean, it doesn't hurt." Mozu replied when Kohaku closed the space in between them by pushing him down on his back, leaning only a few inches away from him, to which he offered no resistance. "Which I'm sure you're aware of by now." 

"Yeah, well-" You know what, never-mind, Kohaku thought-crass and overconfident as he could be sometimes, he had a point, as screwed up as it was- back on the island during her short time there, all the women complained about Ibara but she never heard a peep out of them about Mozu. Whatever the case, it didn't stop her from gasping in a small voice when Mozu-how did he pull me down that quick without me noticing, she questioned-nipped at her neck. "I guess I won't argue, even if you were kind of an ass back on Treasure Island." 

"Well, nobody's perfect." Kohaku resisted the impulse to shriek when Mozu pushed her over, climbing on top of her just as she had done to him. "And things change." 

Kohaku gave him a knowing look when he held her legs, pulling her closer to him. "If I can't walk tomorrow, I'm gonna kill you, you know that, right?" 

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be just fine-" Mozu made no move to let her go, his hands digging into the solid, muscled thighs he had just grabbed before letting one hand wander down, his fingers pressing between her legs and wasting no time finding the perfect rhythm with which to move in and out, curling two of them inside her in the most frustratingly tantalizing way-if Kohaku ever realized why it felt so much better when he did it than when she did it to herself, it would be a cold day in hell indeed. Not that it really mattered all that much, the end result would no doubt be satisfying and that was what mattered in the moment, she acknowledged, her nails digging into one of his biceps as he kept it up. There were certainly worse ways to end the day and yes, she admitted, if after a long, complicated series of questionable social interactions she couldn't have predicted in a thousand years, worse people to spend the night with.

**Author's Note:**

> The part about Tsukasa was inspired by this news story I found recently: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/50220


End file.
